<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

To make things a bit simpler, i'll deal with the annatto summary first:

i heard from two different schools, actually. there is a url that has
been referred to me,

http://www.nowheat.com/grfx/nowheat/primer/controvl.htm,

which states that "The seed itself is unlikely to contain any gluten, it
is the processing of the seed into a colorant that causes concern as it
appears to use alcohol in the process. There is also suspicion that
caramel color may be included in the annatto colorant. Anecdotal
evidence has some celiacs reacting to foods with annatto color in them
but this may be a non-celiac reaction to the annatto itself."

-another person said, "Pure annatto is gf.  However, sometimes flour is
added to easier to mix with certain foods.  Food  makers don't list the
small amount of flour that is added as an ingredient"

the other school of thought, though i don't have this person's source
(i'm not familliar with who Dr. Murray is, although perhaps i should be)
says, "Dr. Joseph Murray at the Mayo Clinic in MN said that annatto
coloring is fine!!  The CSA goes overboard on many things and say that
they aren't safe just because someone with Celiac had a reaction."

i haven't had a reaction (to my knowledge) from annatto, but i've been
feeling so terrible lately that i'm starting to suspect something i'm
eating on a regular basis has hidden gluten, which is why i started
suspecting it. i will cut it out of my diet for the time being to see if
butter is the culprit, and will keep you posted.

as for the msg posting, many people said that they didn't think the
reaction they get from it is celiac-related, but absolutely no one who
emailed me regarding it had anything good to say.

most people said they tend to get nasty headaches, and one person said
that chemically msg and nutrasweet are very simillar, so if you have a
reaction to msg chances are you won't be able to tolerate nutrasweet
either. one person said, and very well put, i might add, that it wasn't
fit for human consumption.

two other people who responded to my email have the same type of
reaction i have, one person said, "Yes, I do I react so badly that I
think I am going to die."

very well put:)

elizabeth in san jose